El Hormiguero

El Hormiguero is the classic exotic lost jungle city in Calakmul in southeastern Campeche. The site is just about 20 minutes south of the Tren Maya station at Xpujil. The city dates from the Late Classic Period between roughly 650 and 850 CE. Just a few of the 84 buildings here have been excavated but these few are spectacular.

Structure II is the most completely excavated, and represents the Rio Bec style of the period. Built on a rectangular platform, it is most celebrated for the giant Chenes-style monster-mask above the main entrance. This main entrance is said to resemble a mouth opening its jaws and to mark something between the world of the living and the Maya underworld. The Chenes style is well-known for providing narrative elements in addition to those which are merely structural. Guests can visit the interior chambers and the nearby pyramid with a temple still well-preserved on top.

The site was originally revealed by explorers from the Carnegie Institute in the 1930s. Excavations only really began in the late 1970s. But since then the site has been widely recognized for the sheer theatricality and drama of the structures themselves. 

People visit El Hormiguero for the striking jungle setting. The little community of Eugenio Echeverría Castellot II is the home to the many community caretakers of the site. They include some certified guides who can help usher visitors back into the most appealing and accessible parts of the site.  

The site is best visited in the early morning, and therefore stays in the little town are encouraged. People get to Eugenio Echeverría Castellot, and thus to El Hormiguero, via Xpujil to the north. A taxi is not out the question, but there are also combi-vans regularly running the roughly 20-minute route. 

From the Chetumal airport to the Xpujil station is just under two hours on the Tren Maya. From Escárcega, the same trip takes about two hours, 20 minutes.